What's best telescope for my son?

Question

My 8 year old son has been asking me for a telescope for the last 2 months, now I don't know how serious he'll take this new hobby so I really don't want to invest so much in it, at least not for his first telescope, I do however, want to incourage this new curiosity, I don't want to buy something so cheap that he won't get to experience a thing and be turned off by it, in other words, I want him to be able to see something more than just the moon.

I was thinking something around $200, I would appreciate any help you can give me, such as brands, prices, what type of telescope and where to buy.

Please don't point me torward toysRus or Walmart, I want something a little more serious than a disposable toy

Answer 1

I think Larry 454 nailed the answer. These 2 scopes he mentioned have been rated very well for beginners are are a great deal for the money. I to, would opt for the 6" one though. Definitely try to take in some public nights at a local astronomy club before making a purchase. It's a great experience to see what is available in the telescope world out there these days and I'm sure they'd be more than happy to answer any of your questions and concerns.

Answer 2

The rules are these:

1. Don't buy a scope at Walmart, your grocery store, or Walmart.  I'm glad you've found out that much.  I hope it wasn't through painful experience.

2. If at all possible, visit or join a local astronomy club first.  This can get you valuable advice in detail, and looks through real scopes.  You may even decide to just use club equipment.  I did - for 5 years.

3. Don't buy anything before you try it.  That's because your eyes are part of the optical path.  No one else has your eye. A club can help here.

Then there are the 3 P's.  Price.  You can't buy more scope than you can afford (though you may be able to wait).  Portability.  You won't use a scope that can't be moved where you'll observe from.  I still often use my 8x21 binoculars, despite having a ten inch reflector.  My scope fits in my car, but my binoculars fit in my pocket.  Performance.  You typically want as big an aperture as you can get within other constraints.  But you may want to do astrophotography, in which case you want an extremely steady mount with an extremely smooth clock drive, and size doesn't matter so much, but clarity does. Astrophotography is fun, but very, very expensive.

I don't believe in starter scopes.  Buy what you'll use.  I had a $1000 budget, and bought an $800 reflector that fits across the back seat of my car, with a computer that helps me find interesting stuff to look at.  I consider my oxygen 3 filter to be the most valuable accessory (just under $100).  It lets me see nebulae from my driveway - one of the worst light pollution spots on Earth.

The cheapest scope i've used that i suggest is the xt6i - Orion 6 inch reflector.  I'd like to suggest the StarBlast 4.5 Astro Telescope, but i've not used one.  It should have a stable mount, it does appear to have very good optics.  It definitely is portable.  It doesn't have a computer aid.  It is in your price range.

Answer 3

Two major things to keep in mind when buying a telescope are the focal length and the diameter of the telescope's lens/mirror.  The focal length ultimately determines how much you can magnify and the diameter determines how bright or detailed the images are.  Other things to keep in mind are what you plan to look at, and how much you plan on transporting the telescope around.  If you plan to carry the telescope long distances to do some stargazing, you probably won't want a heavy huge one.  Generally though, the wider the telescope is, the more detailed the images will be.  Telescopes come in three main kinds.  Refractors...which have lenses...the focal length is basically the length of the telescope.  Reflectors...which have mirrors...the focal length is about twice the length of the telescope.  And Cassigrans...which use a combination of lenses and mirrors.  Cassigrans usually manage to remain short but still have a big focal length.  They also tend to be more expensive than the other two.  Personally I like Reflecting telescopes because they tend to be the widest.  They are also a little less costly than Refractors because mirrors are a little cheaper than lenses.  You'll also need some eyepieces.  Eyepieces allow you to "zoom in" when you change them.  I would suggest starting out with both a 25mm and a 10mm eyepiece.  The 25mm will give you broad views and the 10mm will allow you to zoom in on what you're looking at a bit.  As far as the actual scopes go, I usually buy my scopes from Orion.  The link here should allow you to search for scopes in your price range.  Good luck and I applaud your efforts to encourage your child's curiousity. http://www.telescope.com/control/categor...  

Answer 4

Your son is lucky. At his age, the easier the scope is to handle, the more likely he will be to use it. There are only a couple of scopes in that price range that are not toys. One is shown in the link below:

http://www.telescope.com/control/product...

Frankly, I would spend just a little more and buy the bigger version shown here:

http://www.telescope.com/control/product...

These are great little scopes for a beginner. The optics are decent, the mounts are solid, and the supplier is reliable. I have looked through the smaller one and was favorably impressed. But he will be able to see a lot more stuff with the 6 inch, so I think it's worth the extra $ to go for it.

If you have not visited a local astronomy club observing session, I would recommend that as well. They can be found on line. You will receive a warm welcome and an opportunity to see what you can expect, which may be a little different than you and your son are thinking.

I would also highly recommend the book Nightwatch by T. Dickinson. It is very informative and it has some intuitive charts that are easy to use on a dark night. Best of Luck.